Shape Your Success:

Micro-Credentials for In-Demand Careers

Discover how you can advance your career on your schedule with our diverse range of micro-credentials at CT State. These micro-credentials are designed to empower you with in-demand skills for today's competitive job market, offering bite-sized learning experiences designed to enhance understanding in specific areas and complement academic pathways offered by CT State. Crafted in close partnership with industry leaders, these learning experiences are meticulously designed to meet the evolving demands of the workforce, equipping students with practical skills that hold immediate value in professional settings.

What Are Micro-Credentials?

Micro-credentials are focused learning experiences that validate specific skills or knowledge in a particular subject. Unlike traditional degrees, they are shorter and more targeted, focusing on essential competencies. Developed with input from industry experts and employers, micro-credentials are highly relevant to current job market needs, making them an effective way to enhance your professional skills and career prospects. Each micro-credential is validated by the issuing institution, ensuring credibility and recognition of your accomplishments.

Discover how micro-credentials can help you stand out in today's competitive landscape!

What Is a Digital Badge?

A digital badge is a digital representation of a micro-credential, complete with metadata that showcases evidence of learning. It includes details like the description, skills gained, earning criteria, and information about the issuing institution.

Digital badges are clickable and portable, allowing you to share them on social media, incorporate them into email signatures, display them on websites, and include them on resumes. They serve as a versatile tool for showcasing your accomplishments and skills to prospective employers and peers alike.

What Are the Benefits of Earning a Micro-Credential?

Focused Skill Development

Micro-credentials are ideal for focused skill development. Their targeted approach enables quicker proficiency in key areas and the flexibility to stack credentials over time for a well-rounded skill set.

Quick Completion

Micro-credentials are offered in shorter durations than typical certificate or degrees, ranging from hours to semesters.

Industry Relevance

Created in collaboration with industry experts, skills acquired are directly applicable and immediately valuable in the workplace.

Impress Employers

Micro-credentials serve as a testament to your proactive approach to learning, showcasing your initiative and commitment to acquiring relevant skills. They not only enhance your understanding but also serve as a valuable indicator to employers of your potential and readiness for new challenges.

Learn More

To learn more, view our micro-credential offerings below, read our FAQs or contact Renee Dunbar, Grant Project Assistant at Renee.Dunbar@ctstate.edu for more information.

Micro-Credential Offerings

The following micro-credentials were developed using grant funds provided by the CT Statewide Healthcare Industry Pathways Project. Learn more about the CT SHIP project.

Patient-Centered Communicator

The Patient-Centered Communicator micro-credential reviews professional communication, an essential skill impacting the medical profession and patients in today’s healthcare occupations. The focus is on specific skills needed to communicate appropriately with various patient profiles.

Time to Completion: 2-3 hours
Level: Professional Enhancement

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Healthcare Professional

This micro-credential is designed to equip healthcare professionals with essential skills and knowledge to excel in their roles by emphasizing the importance of professionalism and customer service. Students will explore the importance of time management, personal appearance, positive attitude, and ethical behavior in healthcare. The topics of bias, prejudice, ethnocentrism, and cultural competence will be covered, all of which are essential for providing high-quality, patient-centered care.

Time to Completion: 2-3 hours
Level: Professional Enhancement

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Teamwork and Interprofessional Collaboration

Teamwork and interpersonal collaboration are essential skills in healthcare settings as they contribute to the overall quality of patient care and enhance the working environment for healthcare professionals. This micro-credential aims to prepare healthcare professionals to function effectively in a collaborative and dynamic healthcare environment, ultimately improving patient outcomes and the overall quality of care.

Time to Completion: 2-3 hours
Level: Professional Enhancement

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Professionalism in Healthcare Series

A foundational level badge is awarded upon completion of all three micro-credentials in the series:

Patient-Centered Communicator
Healthcare Professional
Teamwork and Interprofessional Collaborator

Level: Foundational

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Healthcare Documentation Best Practices

This micro-credential equips learners to understand legal, financial, and ethical responsibilities of medical documentation. Learners obtain skills to communicate complex medical details clearly and impartially, learn record editing processes, and explore EHR benefits and challenges. Participants identify key record sections and recognize risks linked to incomplete documentation.

Time to Completion: 2-4 hours
Level: Foundational

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Infection Prevention

Infection prevention in healthcare is fundamental to ensuring patient safety and well-being. This course provides a comprehensive overview of the principles, practices, and strategies used to prevent the spread of infections in healthcare settings.

Time to Completion: 2-3 hours
Level: Foundational

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Resilient Healthcare Employee

Earners will develop resilient thinking skills, learn to handle challenges calmly and focus on patient care and safety. This micro-credential covers stressors affecting healthcare workers, strategies for managing stress, and building adaptability, empathy and emotional intelligence. Emphasis will be placed on developing self-care habits and establishing clear boundaries between work and personal life for sustainable whole-life balance.

Time to Completion: 2-3 hours
Level: Professional Enhancement

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Vital Signs Theory

Overview

This micro-credential provides an in-depth understanding of vital signs. Learners will build on their clinical skills by studying the theory around the four primary vital signs: temperature, pulse rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure. Learners will understand the physiological mechanisms underlying each vital sign, normal and abnormal ranges across age groups and conditions, Potential causes of abnormal vital signs and determining appropriate next steps in patient care, including when to escalate concerns. The importance of maintaining patient safety during assessments and documentation of results will be emphasized.

Time to Completion: 2-3 hours
Level: Foundational

Frequently Asked Questions

Do micro-credentials go on my transcript?

Yes, micro-credentials will be present on your transcript.

How does my certification get displayed as a badge?

We have partnered with Credly to translate the learning outcomes you’ve demonstrated into a badge issued and managed through the company's digital badging platform. Credly's technology is based on the Open Badge Standards maintained by IMS Global. This enables you to manage, share and verify your competencies digitally.

What are the benefits of a badge?

Representing your skills as a badge allows you to share your abilities online in a way that is simple, trusted and can be easily verified in real-time. Badges provide employers and peers concrete evidence of what you had to do to earn your credential and what you’re now capable of. Credly also offers labor market insights based on your skills. You can search and apply for job opportunities right through Credly.

Who is Credly?

Credly is the end-to-end solution for issuing and managing digital credentials. Credly works with credible organizations to provide digital credentials to individuals worldwide.

How will I know if I’ve earned a badge?

You will receive an email notification from Credly (admin@credly.com) with instructions for claiming your badge and setting up your account.

What if I don’t want my badge to be public?

You can easily configure your privacy settings in Credly. You’re in complete control of the information about yourself that is made public.

Is there a fee to use Credly?

No. This is a service we provide to you at no cost.

What’s to keep someone else from copying my badge and using it?

While badges are simply digital image files, they are uniquely linked to data hosted on Credly. This link to verified data makes them more reliable and secure than a paper-based certificate. It also eliminates the possibility of anyone claiming your credentials and your associated identity.

Where and how can I share my badge through Credly?

You can share your badge directly from Credly to LinkedIn, X and Facebook, over email, embedded in a website or your email signature.

What are labor market insights and how can I access them through Credly?

Labor market insights are pulled from live job requisitions. Based on your skills you can learn which employers are hiring, what job titles you might be qualified for, salary ranges and more. Search active job listings and even apply for them with just a few clicks through Credly. Access the labor market insights from your badge details page by clicking on Related Jobs or by clicking on the skill tags assigned to your badge.

I have a question about Credly. Where can I find support?

You can find tutorials and answers to additional questions here.

The Workforce product was funded by the grant awarded by the U.S Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration. The product was created by the grantee and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S Department of Labor. The U.S Department of Labor makes no guarantees, warranties, or assurances of any kind, express or implied, with respect to such information, including any information on any linked sites and include, but not limited to, the accuracy of the information or its completeness, timeliness, usefulness, adequacy, continued availability, or ownership.

The total cost of CT Statewide Healthcare Industry Pathway project (CT SHIP) is $6.9M.  $3.4M (49%) is funded through a U.S. Department of Labor – Employment and Training Administration grant and another $3.5M (51%) is committed through non-federal state and local resources. 